Before an enthusiastic crowd in downtown Columbus, Kasich said building a party that can serve everyone is part of a movement that can catch on nationally.

Early on in his first term, Kasich was seen as vulnerable because of political fallout from a collective-bargaining battle he lost against public employee unions.

In Tuesday's voting, those from union households didn't punish Kasich, favoring FitzGerald by only a slight margin.

Democrats had high hopes a couple of years ago of unseating Kasich, but Ohio's economy has regained its footing and his Democratic rival, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, never found his. He suffered a series of tactical missteps and negative revelations, including that he lacked a permanent driver's license for about a decade.

FitzGerald's campaign faltered early, leaving Democrats without a mouthpiece to remind voters of their 2011 collective-bargaining fight against Kasich. Around the state, campaign signs hinting at the lost opportunity simply displayed Kasich's name behind the slashed circle for "no" - with no mention of support for FitzGerald.

University of Dayton assistant communications professor Joe Valenzano likened the implosion of FitzGerald's campaign to "watching a bad car accident in slow motion."

Ohio Republican Party spokesman Chris Schrimpf said it's been "the worst campaign in the last 20 years," and even Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern told the New York Times he wouldn't allow the company that vetted FitzGerald "to clean out my bird cage."

Voters around the state also were deciding U.S. House, state legislative races and more than 1,600 local issues.

Elections officials in three of the state's largest counties - Franklin, Cuyahoga and Hamilton - reported light to steady turnout with no problems by early afternoon Tuesday. The state reported that more than 671,000 Ohio voters had already cast absentee ballots.

Robert Hathorn, a Republican, was one of about five people waiting in line there when the polls opened in Anderson Township in suburban Cincinnati. He said he always votes but was especially interested in the governor's race and a local school levy.

The 58-year-old fire marshal said he voted for Kasich.

"I think he has turned the economics of Ohio around, getting us out of a deficit to a positive. I think he has done a great job with that," he said. "I didn't like that he tried to mess with the pensions of the police and fire unions a few years ago, but overall I think he's done a good job."

Lisa Jackson, 44, was also in Anderson Township early Tuesday to vote. The Democrat, who works in health care management, said that she doesn't always vote a straight Democratic ticket and did vote for Kasich.

"I think he has done a great job balancing fiscal conservative policies with taking care of our most vulnerable population through Medicaid expansion," she said.

Jackson said she voted for some Democrats, but not on the state level because she has been pleased with Kasich's administration.

Bill Tucker, 62, of Anderson Township and the executive director of a nonprofit organization, said he voted for FitzGerald.

"I wasn't enthusiastic for FitzGerald, but I had some major problems with Kasich," he said, explaining he didn't think the administration serves the interests of all Ohioans and that he had problems with Kasich's policies on the public employee unions.

Anita Rios was the third person on the ballot, representing the Green Party.